After arriving at the restaurant, Xia Wenbin quickly changed into his work uniform and skillfully began helping Master Liu.
"Wenbin, did you cut the vegetables I asked you to prepare?"
"They're all cut, Master Liu. I even peeled the shrimp you wanted!"
"Not bad, not bad. Young people really are quick on their feet. You're much more reliable than those apprentices of mine. Whenever you leave school and don't know where to go, come learn a trade with me—you'll never go hungry!"
"You got it, Master Liu! When the time comes, I'll learn how to cook from you!"
Xia Wenbin genuinely liked this part-time job. Not only because it paid 180 yuan a day, but mostly because he could learn culinary skills from the master chefs. Master Liu's cooking, in particular, was an absolute work of art, and many of Jiangzhou City's high-ranking officials and elites specifically requested his dishes by name.
The thought of learning a trade naturally brought to mind his older sister and his mother back home.
Their family was from Qinghe County in Jiangzhou City. Years ago, his father had passed away in an accident, leaving only his mother, his sister, and him.
After his father passed away, to support the two children, his mother scraped together money from every possible source to finally run a small noodle shop. It was solely through daily noodle sales and strict frugality that she managed to raise both of them to adulthood.
His sister, Xia Xueer, was only three years older than him, but she had doted on him fiercely since they were kids. Whenever there was anything fun or delicious, she always let him have it first. If Xia Wenbin had to name the person closest to him, it would undoubtedly be his sister.
To help lighten the family's financial burden, his sister had just graduated from university this year and returned to the county town to take a job as a substitute teacher.
She thought that being close to home would make it easier to look after their mother, and she could also help out at the noodle shop after classes to save money for her younger brother's college expenses.
This was why Xia Wenbin started taking on part-time jobs as soon as he entered university. He genuinely didn't want to be any burden to his family, nor did he want his mother and sister to work themselves to exhaustion, let alone worry about him.
Before receiving the System, Xia Wenbin had already figured out his path: if finding a job after graduation proved difficult, he would spend a few years learning the culinary arts under Master Liu.
Then he would return to his hometown and run a restaurant with his mother, where he would handle the stir-frying and his mother would make the noodles. A cozy family life like that wouldn't be bad at all.
But now, with the System, everything was different. He no longer worried that his sister and mother would have a hard life in the future. His only concern was how on earth he was supposed to explain the System and the origin of all this money.
Unable to find a suitable excuse, Xia Wenbin could only take things one step at a time for now. He would slowly improve his family's situation and gradually get them used to it!
After finishing a busy day of work, Xia Wenbin was already quite tired.
He had originally planned to head straight back to the dormitory, but remembering that the System had rewarded him with a villa when he completed the binding mission yesterday, he decided to go check it out tonight.
Meanwhile, inside the presidential suite of a five-star hotel in Jiangzhou City.
A scar-faced man wrapped in a bath towel was smoking a cigarette looking refreshed, and sitting beside him was none other than Chen Haoxuan, one of the Four Young Masters of Jiangzhou University.
Chen Haoxuan flattered the scar-faced man with a beaming smile:
"Brother Xiong, were you satisfied with yesterday's arrangement?"
"Hmm, not bad. Both of them were fresh goods! Young Master Chen really knows my tastes." The man called Brother Xiong glanced at Chen Haoxuan, nodded, and praised him.
"Brother Xiong, I'm counting on you this time. You have to help me teach that brat a good lesson.
Besides, that punk is loaded. He has a hundred million yuan just on his mobile phone. If we kidnap him, his family will definitely pay even more to ransom him."
Seeing that Brother Xiong was satisfied with his arrangement, Chen Haoxuan hurriedly repeated his demands.
The scar-faced man's eyes lit up as he looked at Chen Haoxuan, then patted his chest with absolute confidence:
"Young Master Chen, you can rest assured when I, Violent Bear, handle things. Even without considering the two new goods you got me last night, I guarantee I'll take care of this cleanly for you.
And since you found such a fat sheep for the Black Bear Gang, once it's done I'll definitely make sure the boss gives you a bigger cut of the profits. Just go back home in peace and wait for the good news!"
With that, the scar-faced man patted Chen Haoxuan on the arm, threw on his bath towel, and swaggered back into the bedroom.
Soon, rhythmic swaying sounds echoed from inside the room.
Stepping out the door, Chen Haoxuan instantly dropped his flattering expression and burst into loud laughter.
"Hahaha... Xia Wenbin, aren't you arrogant and rich? I refuse to believe you can stroll right back out after leaving school! Unless you plan to cower in the university forever and never step outside."
At this moment, Xia Wenbin had no idea that Chen Haoxuan was already plotting against him.
He was currently holding his phone, following the navigation, ready to go check out his grand villa!
"Help! Help! Let go of me! If you—if you keep this up, I'm calling the police!"
While passing through a certain apartment complex, Xia Wenbin suddenly heard a cry for help.
Ding—Binding Mission: Rescue Liu Xiaoting, the beautiful doctoral student of Jiangzhou University
Mission Details:
① Rescue Liu Xiaoting from the hands of the Black Bear Gang and ensure her safety.
② Help Liu Xiaoting completely rid herself of the Black Bear Gang's future harassment.
If the host fails to rescue Liu Xiaoting, she will be violated, plunge hopelessly into the quagmire of the Black Bear Gang, and ultimately end her life through suicide.
Time limit: One week
Mission Completion: Liu Xiaoting will be bound as the host's auxiliary tool person, and generous rewards will be granted by the System.
(Note: The host's method and outcome in handling the problem will determine Liu Xiaoting's favorability toward you and the final reward.)
Xia Wenbin was instantly dumbfounded. The System had given him a mission, but failed to provide the location or coordinates. Right now, his only option was to follow the cries for help and check if it was Liu Xiaoting.
Meanwhile, on the street not far away, four or five drunk men in black suits were grinning as they surrounded a woman wearing a black OL skirt.
The woman's previously neat hair was now a messy bundle, yet one could still make out a delicate, fair, oval-shaped face, an exquisite nose, and bright red lips. Her subtle makeup highlighted the unique charm of a mature urban woman.
"Young lady! What is going on here! Who are you people, and what do you want?" A passing middle-aged woman walked over with a concerned look, wanting to intervene.
However, after seeing four or five burly, tiger-backed, bear-waist thugs, she realized they were not to be messed with and stopped in her tracks.
As for other female passersby who witnessed the scene, they turned pale with fright and scattered in all directions.
...
Liu Xiaoting was a newly graduated doctoral student from the Department of Business Administration at Jiangzhou University.
She was also renowned as the most beautiful female doctoral student at Jiangzhou University; both her appearance and figure were top-tier, exquisite beauties.
Because of her combined master's and doctoral studies over the years, Liu Xiaoting had remained single. Moreover, living quite close to Jiangzhou University made it convenient for her studies and work, so she had rented a nearby bachelor apartment for the past few years.
"Auntie! Go call the police! I don't even know these people!" Liu Xiaoting cried out, struggling while turning her head toward the middle-aged woman.
"Old hag, I advise you to stay out of our Black Bear Gang's business, or else you know what happens."
Upon hearing the three words "Black Bear Gang," the middle-aged woman turned pale with fright.
The onlookers who had gathered to watch also lowered their heads with trembling shoulders; none of them dared to make a phone call to the police, terrified of drawing trouble upon themselves.
The [Black Bear Gang] was one of the largest criminal syndicates in Jiangzhou City. Not only were they deeply entrenched, but rumors also had it that they had connections in both the underworld and legitimate circles. Ordinary folks simply could not afford to provoke such a massive gang.
At this moment, the leading man in the black suit wore a smug expression, glared menacingly at Liu Xiaoting, and sneered, "Little beauty! Still want to call the police? Believe it or not, I'll seal your mouth shut and throw you into the sea to feed the fish!"
Hearing this, the middle-aged woman and other passersby grew even more terrified, their bodies freezing in place without daring to make a single move.
"What on earth do you want? I don't know any Black Bear Gang." Liu Xiaoting's eyes turned red with anger, and she was on the verge of tears.
The leading man let out a loud laugh. "Little sister, even if you didn't know us before, won't you know us after tonight? Come on, hurry up and go play with us brothers for a while. If you aren't satisfied, don't even think about coming back! Drag her away!"
No matter how fiercely Liu Xiaoting resisted, she was ultimately just a woman, and was constantly dragged toward a car by several big men.
Seeing that she was reaching her breaking point, Liu Xiaoting's heart turned to ashes. Was her purity, which she had guarded for so many years, going to be ruined tonight by a group of scumbags?
At this moment, all she could do was pray to the heavens for someone to come and save her.
Just then, Xia Wenbin, walking over from across the street, cut straight through the crowd and asked, "What are you guys doing with so many people? By the way, are you Liu Xiaoting?"
Although Liu Xiaoting had never met Xia Wenbin, she instinctively felt that the man before her was her last hope. She hurriedly replied, "Yes, I am Liu Xiaoting! Mister, please help me call the police! They're trying to kidnap me!"
Now that he had found the mission target, Xia Wenbin felt relieved.
After all, they were just a bunch of punks; he could deal with them in minutes.
"What? A kidnapping in broad daylight?" Xia Wenbin feigned shock as he pulled out his phone and snapped a photo of the group and Liu Xiaoting.
Then he turned to Liu Xiaoting and said, "Don't worry, Miss. I've already taken pictures as evidence. I'm calling the police right now!"
Seeing that Xia Wenbin actually intended to call the police, the crowd of onlookers broke out in a cold sweat for the young man.
Meanwhile, the Black Bear Gang thugs wore murderous expressions, and their leader glared at him with gloomy fury: "Brat, you dare meddle in the Black Bear Gang's affairs? Tired of living?"
"What Black Bear or White Bear—it doesn't even sound as nice as a pug!" Xia Wenbin clicked his tongue.
"A pu—pug? Fuck your mother, beat him!"
At a signal from the leader, two thugs immediately stepped forward and flanked Xia Wenbin.
One lunged to snatch the phone from Xia Wenbin's hand, while the other kicked viciously at his lower back.
Too lazy to make the call anyway—since the police wouldn't arrive in time—Xia Wenbin simply sidestepped, effortlessly dodging the kick from behind.
Kicking into thin air, the attacker ended up crashing straight into the other thug right in front of him.
"Ow!" The man in front was sent tumbling to the ground.
At that moment, Xia Wenbin took a step back and swept his left foot horizontally. The thug behind him, who was just trying to retract his leg, was tripped by the sweep. Losing his balance completely, he crashed flat onto his back.
All of this happened in less than a few seconds. The surrounding crowd didn't even see how it happened before both burly thugs were flat on the ground!
Witnessing this, a glimmer of hope ignited in Liu Xiaoting's eyes. She never expected the young and slender man before her to be so formidable in a fight.
"A bunch of useless trash! All you do is embarrass me!"
Spitting on the ground, the leader rolled up his sleeves to reveal muscular arms covered in tattoos, and strode up to Xia Wenbin.
"Brat, you asked for this! Don't blame me for being ruthless when I knock you out with a concussion in a second!"
With a grin, the man bared his teeth. Having previously fought in underground boxing rings, his arm strength was far beyond what an ordinary person could withstand.
Raising his fist—large as a sandbag—he lunged it directly at Xia Wenbin's head.